FOOD
L AWRENCE J OURNAL -W ORLD
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Lettuce
Fork
seem appropriate with wine and cheese. I wanted something a little more delicate for sauce, so I CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10B settled on a Spanish tapasstyle meatball. They get a wines and then drew ar- tomato sauce, but it’s not rows from the wine spot to as thick or heavy as marithe coordinating cheeses, nara, which is also good also labeled with chalk. on meatballs. For example: Put your meatballs in a crock pot (I had two bags Reds of frozen ones) and pour this sauce over them. You Cabernet sauvignon J will not be sorry. aged cheddar, dark chocolate pieces Pinot noir J Gruyere Tapas Meatball Merlot J Parmesan, Sauce Gruyere
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yellow-green to wine red — pop against the brightwhite walls and growing trays. There’s lettuce in all stages, from sequin-sized sprouts to lush, leafy, ready-to-harvest red bib and romaine. An irrigation system carries fertilizer-laced water to each plant, delivering moisture and nutrients to roots while emerging leaves get sunlight through the greenhouse’s translucent covering. Ryan tinkered with an old air conditioner to fashion a system that keeps the water solution from getting too hot. To keep the climate from getting too hot, fans draw air through a “wet wall” at one end of the greenhouse. In the winter, propane heat will keep it warm. He monitors everything daily. A climate-control slip, pH imbalance or bug infestation could wipe out an entire crop. Everyone entering the greenhouse wipes their feet on a towel soaked with solution to ensure their shoes are clear of insects. There are screens over all the fans to keep bugs from sneaking in. Ryan even wears rubber gloves when harvesting and transplanting the lettuce.
Pros and cons Hydroponic gardening started getting a lot of interest about 15 to 20 years ago, said Jennifer Smith, the horticulture extension agent for K-State Research and Extension in Douglas County. “The general idea was that because you’re not using soil you can grow things in a smaller space,” she said, “and it was kind of an interesting discovery that we can grow things without soil.” Smith said that while hydroponics may enable farmers to grow produce with less space, it can be labor-intensive to maintain the correct balances. Also, she said, some people argue that food grown in dirt has more flavor. Ryan said he believes that’s true with foods such as tomatoes (he pre-
Mike Yoder/Journal-World Photos
CAROLINE EDDINGER AND HER DAUGHTER STELLA, 10, help operate Two Sisters Farm where a hydroponic greenhouse system is used to grow several varieties of lettuce.
LETTUCE GROWS OUT OF PLASTIC TRAYS where a steady flow of water and nutrients sustains the plants. . fers dirt-farmed heirloom varieties, hands down). However, he doesn’t think that’s the case with lettuce, which is a decidedly different type of crop. “I’ll never grow another head of lettuce in the dirt,” he said. Hydroponic growing enables him to leave roots on, which keeps the lettuce — a vegetable that’s notoriously prone to wilting — flavorful and crunchy longer with no preservatives. Hydroponic lettuce can mature weeks faster than outdoors, and the controlled environment also enables Two Sisters to keep its crops pesticideand herbicide-free. Plus, if Two Sisters is able to drum up enough customers, the Eddingers will be able to afford to run their greenhouse year-round, providing
Lawrence with lettuce grown just a few miles away all winter long. “That’s one of the best things about local; it’s going to be fresh,” Ryan said. “The more local the better.”
Growing customers Right now, Two Sisters’ living lettuce is for sale at four Lawrence grocery stores: both Hy-Vee locations, 4000 W. Sixth St. and 3504 Clinton Parkway; Checkers, 2300 La.; and the Merc., 901 Iowa. Two Sisters also supplies lettuce to several Lawrence restaurants, plus Raintree Montessori School, 4601 Clinton Parkway, and a couple of restaurants in Johnson County — Renee Kelly’s Harvest in Shawnee and Story in Prairie Village. The Eddingers sell at Cottin’s Hardware Farm-
Associated Press
Many people like the idea of cooking with whole grains — They are so healthful! — but refrain from actually plunging in because so many of them are unfamiliar. What is the ratio of liquid to grain? Don’t you need to rinse them, soak them or toast them first? How long do you cook them? Don’t they take forever to cook? For too long, I shied away from whole grains, too, especially because nobody seemed to agree on the answers to these questions. Then I did something really smart. I read the back of the package. And, duh! It’s all right there. After all, who knows better how to prepare these products than the company that did the harvesting? Product by product, and brand by brand, the instructions on the packages set me free to start cooking with many new whole grains. One of my first and most gratifying discoveries was that most of these grains are pretty durable. You can boil up a huge batch during the weekend, then freeze them in 1-, 2or 3-cup containers. All you need to do is reheat them with a bit of liquid or steam them over simmering water. And they are versatile, too. You can use them in any recipe that calls for cooked rice. Which brings me to this recipe. My family loves regular risotto made with arborio or carnaroli rice. I was hopeful that I could
prepare the same kind of recipe using farro. A kind of hulled wheat, farro was first cultivated in the ancient Near East some 10,000 years ago. After a while, it started showing up in ancient Egypt and Israel. Today, it’s grown in Morocco, Spain, Albania, Turkey, Switzerland and Italy. Recently, it’s been gaining popularity right here in America because it’s so nutritious. Happily, farro also happens to be delicious. It has a full-bodied taste and a pleasant, slightly chewy texture. It’s less starchy than short grain rice, which means that this risotto is not as creamy as rice-based versions. But it still gets plenty creamy, especially with the addition of a little freshly-grated Parmesan. I simmered the farro first to give it a jump start because it takes 50 to 60 minutes to get tender, and who wants to be stirring all that time? Traditionalists making the standard risotto contend that you’re supposed to add the liquid in numerous small increments, which can get pretty tedious. But I was liberated several years ago by Andrew Carmellini, who adds liquid to his risotto fewer times in larger amounts. I figured if it was all right for this celebrated Italian restaurant chef, I could get away with it, too. I finish off my farro risotto with sauteed mushrooms, but you’re welcome to substitute any kind of cooked vegetable — carrots, peas, eggplant or chunks of butternut
squash. And adding a little cooked protein to it, such as shrimp, for example, or chicken, or Canadian bacon, easily turns this dish into an entree. It is the perfect base for repurposed leftovers, but your family also will love it straight up.
Mushroom farro “risotto” If you can only find parcooked farro (partially cooked), skip the initial step of the recipe (which calls for boiling the farro for 25 minutes). Instead, proceed to the next step. When the recipe directs you to simmer the broth and reserved farro cooking liquid, instead bring 2 1/2 cups of broth to a simmer, then proceed with the recipe and add the parcooked farro when it calls for drained farro. If you grate the cheese on a wand-style grater, you will get about 3/4 cup. If you use the fine side of a box grater, you will get about half as much volume, or about 3/8 cup. Start to finish: 50 to 60 minutes (25 minutes active) Servings: 8 1 1/2 cups farro 3 tablespoons extravirgin olive oil, divided 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup) 1 large clove garlic, finely chopped 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves 1 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable broth 4 ounces fresh mushrooms (white button,
Whites Chardonnay J apples, bleu cheese Pinot grigio J goat cheese Riesling J brie
Bubbly Sparkling wine or champagne J brie, chocolate, ers Market on Thursdays berries and the Downtown Overland Park Farmers MarOnce your “maps” are ket on Saturdays — usu- drawn, you can just fill ally with the “two sisters” in the blanks. I bought themselves up at 4 a.m. water crackers and made and in tow. some toasts from fresh baThe family likes inter- guettes for serving cheese acting with customers, on. For my chocolate fix, I hearing feedback and hav- just did a simple chocolate ing the people who buy fondue with fresh strawtheir lettuce see their fac- berries and blueberries es and know their names, for dipping, and I made Ryan said. truffles. Honestly, I think Monday morning, he the truffles were the bigwas harvesting and box- gest hit of all the morsels ing up lettuce that he or at the party. Would you Caroline would personal- like my recipe? Oh, OK. ly deliver to 715, 715 Mass., and the Oread, 1200 Oread Chocolate Truffles Ave., that day or the next. 10 oz 60 percent cacao T.K. Peterson, the Oread’s executive chef, chocolate pieces 1/2 cup heavy cream started ordering Two Sis3 Tablespoons butter ters lettuce this spring as 2 Tablespoons light corn part of a larger effort to incorporate more local pro- syrup cocoa powder and powduce in his restaurants. There’s a “hip factor” to dered sugar, for dipping eating local produce that Put the chocolate pieces customers like, Peterson said. He’s had some prob- in a bowl with the butter lems with small farms that, and microwave for 30 secfor various reasons, aren’t onds. Stir, and do another able to complete all their 30 seconds. Set aside. Combine the cream orders, but not Two Sisters. “They meet your need and corn syrup in a pretty much every week,” small saucepan and heat Peterson said. “They’re through. Do not scorch! able to control it a lot bet- Pour the hot cream over ter than the standard out- the chocolate and stir until the chocolate pieces door farms.” In addition to qual- are thoroughly melted. ity food, Peterson simply Put the mixture in the agrees with supporting lo- refrigerator to harden. cal farmers, he said: “You Overnight is best, but if do it more just because it’s you don’t have that much time, at least an hour will the right thing to do.” be required to get it to — Features reporter Sara Shepherd can rolling consistency. be reached at 832-7187. Follow her at Once it is sufficiently Twitter.com/KCSSara. chilled, remove it from the refrigerator and form it into balls. If it’s too hard to scoop, let it rest for 15 minutes to soften a bit. I highly suggest you get a small spring loaded scoop for this process. Trust me, cremini, shiitake, oyster or it’s worth it. a mix) Once you have all of 1/2 cup dry red wine your balls made, dunk 1 ounce freshly grated them in cocoa powder or Parmigiano-Reggiano powdered sugar, and recheese turn them to the refrigeraKosher salt and ground tor until you’re ready to black pepper serve. I popped mine into martini glasses for fancy Bring a large pot of salted presentation. Also, stemwater to a boil. Add the farro ware saves space on your and simmer for 25 minutes. table. Drain the farro, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid. I figured my guests Meanwhile, in a medium might like a bite or two of saucepan over medium, hot food to go with their heat 2 tablespoons of the oil. wine and cheese gluttony, Reduce the heat to mediumso I put together my two low, then add the onion and favorite party foods, both cook for 5 minutes, or until it of which seemed approhas softened. Add the garlic priate for this party. and the thyme and cook for 1 I love meatballs. Like, minute more. a party isn’t a party unIn a medium skillet over less there are meatballs. medium, heat the remainYou can make your own ing tablespoon of oil until or buy them frozen, no hot. Reduce the heat to matter. medium-low, then add the What is important mushrooms and saute for about these meatballs about 5 minutes, stirring is the sauce. You see, occasionally, until the liquid I didn’t want the they give off has evapoold sticky cocktail rated. Set aside. meatballs, and barIn a medium saucepan, becue sauce didn’t combine the broth and the reserved farro cooking liquid. Bring the mixture to a simmer. Turn down the heat to low. Add the drained farro to the onion; cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Add the wine to the farro and simmer 1 to 2 minutes, until it is absorbed. Add the hot stock mixture to the farro in 3 increiStock Photo ments, letting it simmer until almost all the liquid has been absorbed before adding each new batch of stock. This should take about 25 minutes. When the farro is tender, stir in the mushroom mixture along with the cheese, then season with salt and pepper.
Getting to the whole-grain side of risotto By Sara Moulton
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4 cans of good whole tomatoes (I like Muir Glen) 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 clove garlic, minced 1 tablespoon sugar 1/2 cups diced yellow onion 1 teaspoon sriracha 2 teaspoons spicy barbecue sauce (just trust me on this) 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper Heat the olive oil in a stock pot over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute. Be careful not to burn it. Add the other ingredients, and simmer for 2 hours. Once it’s all simmered and soft, use a potato masher to pulverize the tomatoes into a chunky sauce. Pour it over your meatballs, turn on the crock pot and wait for it all to meld and get married. Ah-maz-ing. Think the barbecue sauce seems weird? It just adds a bit of flavor depth. You’d never taste this and say “BBQ.” Trust me. I also whipped up a hot artichoke dip because who doesn’t like hot artichoke dip? And I just happened to make what I think is the best version of it, next to Free State Brewing Company’s, which I cannot seem to replicate.
Megan’s Hot Artichoke Dip 1 block cream cheese 2 cups mayonnaise 2 cans quartered artichoke hearts 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, divided 3/4 cup diced onion (I like the frozen ones for this application — they’re not only fast, but they’re not as pungent as fresh, so as not to overwhelm the dip) 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder pinch of kosher salt Combine all of the ingredients, using only 3/4 cup of the Parmesan cheese. Stir well and transfer to a small casserole dish (9x9 is big enough). Sprinkle the rest of the Parmesan on top and bake for 20 minutes in a 350-degree oven. Serve with baguette toasts or crackers. Superb AND easy! All of this makes for simple food to prepare, but a very fancy party presentation. Also, the beauty of it all is this: you don’t have to buy the booze!